Blackburn 3 Fulham 1: Rovers off the bottom as 10-men see off Cottagers

Ewood Park was transformed from the
theatre of doom to a scene of undiluted joy and harmony as the Rovers
fans staged a love-in for their victorious, 10-man team.

'There's only one Blackburn Rovers'
and 'I'm Rovers till I die' were the chants that rang out, replacing the
abuse of manager Steve Kean that has so often tainted the famous old
stadium this season.

At the final whistle, Kean maintained
the dignified air that has characterised his behaviour during these
troubled times, while goalkeeper Paul Robinson ran the length of the
pitch to hurl his gloves into the crowd.

When substitute Mauro Formica drilled
the ball past David Stockdale he set the seal on what was only Rovers
fourth win of the season and the ninth for boss Kean in 42 Premier
League matches spanning 13 months.

Most significantly, the three points
lifted Rovers out of the bottom three for only the second time this
season. Kean, who has consistently insisted that team spirit has
remained good, could not have wished for better confirmation.

His players rallied superbly after
top scorer Yakubu was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Danny Murphy
midway through the first half, the Nigerian's first red card in nine
years in English football.

'I think this was not only a display
of team spirit but also of great discipline,' said Kean. 'We know the
Yak hasn't got a malicious thought in his head and although it looked
nasty, I was surprised it was red and not yellow. We'll have a look at
it and if we think there are grounds to appeal, then we will do that.

Impact: Yakubu scythes down Danny Murphy to earn a red card (below)

'I was very pleased with the way the
players kept their shape and showed a lot of intelligence. I think that
to come out of the bottom three, playing with 10 men, is a massive
boost.'

Morten Gamst Pedersen sparked what
all at Ewood hope will be a Rovers revival when he speared his low
free-kick inside the far post in the last of three added minutes to the
first half.

Fulham were reeling when David Dunn
drilled in the second goal just 53 seconds after the restart. Rovers old
boy Damien Duff brought a brief halt to the celebrations when he sent a
raking shot past the superb Robinson on 55 minutes.

Fightback: Damien Duff was on target for Fulham

But Formica, who had replaced Dunn,
restored the party atmosphere when he ran on to Steven Nzonzi's subtle
ball and coolly fired in 12 minutes from time.

'Thank you for being our 11th man'
read the message on the huge scoreboard as referee Anthony Taylor's
whistle signalled the end. In the words of Fulham manager Martin Jol,
this victory 'could give Blackburn a new lease of life'.

The disappointed Dutchman said: 'It
was a red card offence by Yakubu and it looked like everything was going
for us, but we conceded a free kick just before half time and we were
trying to repair the damage when they scored a second goal. You have to
give full credit to them because they kept trying to break us down.'

Spectacular strike: Pedersen bends the free-kick home for the opener

Kean said centre back and skipper Chris Samba, wanted by Paris St Germain, Tottenham and QPR and who allegedly told French newspaper L'Equipe he wants to leave Blackburn, will go to hospital for tests after pulling out of training on Friday complaining of stomach cramps.